More than 600,000 Americans and 300,000 Canadians now live in Mexico. This authoritative and humorous examination of both the pros and cons of living, working, and doing business in Mexico is one of the bestselling guides out there.

Live better south of the border in Mexico. Practical advice for living and working.

A growing number of Americans, many of them retirees, are migrating to Mexico's beach resorts, border towns, and picturesque heartland. While considerable attention has been paid to Mexicans who immigrate to the U.S., the reverse scenario receives little scrutiny. Shifting the traditional lens of North American migration, The Other Side of the Fence takes a fascinating look at a demographic trend that presents significant implications for the United States and Mexico. The first in-depth account of this trend, Sheila Croucher's study describes the cultural, economic, and political lives of these migrants of privilege. Focusing primarily on two towns, San Miguel de Allende in the mountains and Ajijic along the shores of Lake Chapala, Croucher depicts the surprising similarities between immigrant populations on both sides of the border. Few Americans living in Mexico are fluent in the language of their new land, and most continue to practice the culture and celebrate the national holidays of their homeland, maintaining close political, economic, and social ties to the United States while making political demands on Mexico, where they reside. Accessible, timely, and brimming with eye-opening, often ironic, findings, The Other Side of the Fence brings an important perspective to borderlands debates.

Mexico and the United States exist in a symbiotic relationship: Mexico frequently provides the United States with cheap labor, illegal goods, and, for criminal offenders, a refuge from the law. In turn, the U.S. offers Mexican laborers the American dream: the possibility of a better livelihood through hard work. To supply each other’s demands, Americans and Mexicans have to cross their shared border from both sides. Despite this relationship, U.S. immigration reform debates tend to be security-focused and center on the idea of menacing Mexicans heading north to steal abundant American resources. Further, Congress tends to approach reform unilaterally, without engaging with Mexico or other feeder countries, and, disturbingly, without acknowledging problematic southern crossings that Americans routinely make into Mexico. In Run for the Border, Steven W. Bender offers a framework for a more comprehensive border policy through a historical analysis of border crossings, both Mexico to U.S. and U.S. to Mexico. In contrast to recent reform proposals, this book urges reform as the product of negotiation and implementation by cross-border accord; reform that honors the shared economic and cultural legacy of the U.S. and Mexico. Covering everything from the history of Anglo crossings into Mexico to escape law authorities, to vice tourism and retirement in Mexico, to today’s focus on Mexican border-crossing immigrants and drug traffickers, Bender takes lessons from the past 150 years to argue for more explicit and compassionate cross-border cooperation. Steeped in several disciplines, Run for the Border is a blend of historical, cultural, and legal perspectives, as well as those from literature and cinema, that reflect Bender’s cultural background and legal expertise.

Traveler's Tool Kit Mexico/Central America was named Best Guidebook for 2008 by planeta.com Rob Sangster and Tim Leffel are not typical travelers, nor is this a typical travel guide. Instead of rating Mexico's "best" (read: most expensive) hotels, the authors shows how to locate comfortable, affordable lodging anywhere in the country. Traveler's Tool Kit does the same for everything from dining to entertainment to sightseeing in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Individual sections cover it all: drafting itineraries, calculating costs, eco-sensitive travel, unusual tours, managing money, staying healthy, woman-alone travel, and much more. Sangster and Leffel show how to connect with a network of travelers who've discovered the most enjoyable things to do and can provide guidance on how much to pay for them. The book also tells how to memorialize the adventure through photography and blogging, and even how to earn money from the trip after returning home. Sangster and Leffel are both authoritative and encouraging, drawing on years of experience to help travelers maximize the fun, savings, and security without compromising quality.

In a lighthearted, uplifting, yet practical account, Golson details the year he and his wife spent building their dream house in Mexico for this first fun and informative chronicle of the new trend of retiring south of the border. Photos.

Dr. Peter Gott combines the empathy of an old-fashioned family doctor with the outspoken fervor of a patients' rights advocate in this comprehensive guide that is a turn-to resource for those with health concerns. Dr. Gott responds to readers' medical questions with sensitivity and accuracy and is praised for his knowledge of medicine and his warm, compassionate style.